Farmers Allowed To Enter Delhi, To Be Escorted To Protest Site: 10 Points

New Delhi: Thousands of farmers were allowed to enter Delhi today for a planned protest against new farm laws after a morning of clashes with the police at the border with Haryana. Even after the Delhi Police announced that they could enter, escorted by cops, teargassing and water sprays continued, apparently to control crowds. Some farmers were reportedly injured in the action. Groups of farmers, walking with tractors carrying food and essential supplies, had been trying to enter Delhi from multiple points, defying barricades, many wrapped in barbed wire, and trenches dug up near key roads. Farmers` organisations said they had been "given safe passage" into Delhi and allowed to protest at a ground in Burari near the capital`s outskirts.

Here are the top 10 updates on the farmers` protests:

1.   Police fired several rounds of tear gas at some places on the outskirts of Delhi and used water cannons. Some protesters were seen throwing stones as large groups pressed against barricades, waving flags and sticks. Several farmers were injured and taken to hospitals at a border point called Singhu.

2.   A confrontation between farmers and Delhi police went on for more than five hours at various points of entry from Haryana. Sand-laden trucks and barbed wire barricades were placed to stop farmers from entering the capital for their "Delhi Chalo" protest.

3.   Police officers cited coronavirus rules to stop the protesters. "We will not endanger the residents of Delhi," said Delhi police officer Gaurav Sharma. But later, the policemen were asked to let the farmers proceed.

4.   Farmer leaders questioned why the Covid guidelines only applied to them. "What about the Bihar election? What about when they held parliament to pass the farm laws? We are not scared of Covid. The laws are worse," said the farmer.

5.   Delhi Police`s request to turn nine stadiums in the city into makeshift "jails" to detain protesting farmers was rejected by the city`s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

6.   Traffic slowed to a crawl between Gurgaon and Delhi as vehicles were checked at border posts. Yesterday, there were huge jams on the highway because of the security restrictions.

7.   Farmers from six states, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Kerala and Punjab, are heading to Delhi and intend to converge at Ram Lila Maidan in the heart of the city for a protest planned for months. The farmers say 500 organisations are part of it. The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, comprising seven farmers` organisations, says they have written to the PM asking for negotiations and a site where farmers can assemble.

8.   Yesterday, farmers clashed with the police on a bridge just outside Haryana as tear gas and water cannons were used to push them back. The farmers flung barricades threw bricks at the cops and pushed vehicles parked on the bridge to clear their way and cross into Haryana. Close to midnight, in the middle of a cold wave, water cannons were again used at Sonipat.

9.   Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar -- whose state has been using heavy force to stop the farmers -- hit out at his Punjab counterpart Amarinder Singh, accusing him of inciting the protests and playing "cheap politics" during the pandemic.

10.                  The farmers are protesting three new laws aimed at bringing reforms by doing away with middlemen and improving farmers` earnings by allowing them to sell produce anywhere in the country. Farmers and opposition parties allege that the laws will deprive the farmers of guaranteed minimum price for their produce and leave them at the mercy of corporates.